Tag / fuel pump

My fuel pump cherry was busted wide open today. After 230k miles and pumping over 8k gallons of fuel, I’m ok with that.

For those of you wondering, this job is very simple unless you have issues with the smell of petrol. Took me about 20 minutes start to finish using nothing more than a 10mm socket and my trusty Swiss Army Knife to pry open the inspection plate.

Some notes.

On the R50, the fuel pump is located under the rear seat, drivers side

It is not necessary to hold any of the hoses or wires up with anything. They don’t fall too far into the tank. I did use bailing wire to hold those up and it did help.

A special tool is not needed to remove the ring. Helpful, but not needed

Good idea to disconnect the battery before you start. At least I did, you know, just in case.

Open the doors and the boot. Gas fumes, duh.

When you put the new pump into the tank, you might think it doesn’t fit. Press down. It is supposed to do that.

If you need this, don’t discount the dealer’s parts desk. MINI Of Ontario sells it for about $280, Napa wanted $320

I thought it was fairly straightforward and not to difficult, but your mileage may vary. Thanks to Mr. Miller for the assist via SMS and to my Dad for the extra hand to hold things in place. And, special thanks to me for saving me a big pile of cash on doing this myself. A 40 mile tow and hour of service is a pretty penny you know.

And, finally, don’t be afraid to attempt repairs such as this yourself. Y’all know I’m short on cash, so I’m especially motivated. I’m also a tremendous cheap skate and am willing to attempt things in order to save a few hundred bucks.